Walking stick seat



June 14, 1932. STEVENS WALKING STICK SEAT Filed Feb. 26, 1930 Patented June re, 1932 1,863, 15?

UNITE. PATENT HARRY DUDLEY STEVENS, OIE STOKE, COVENTRY, ENGLAND WALKING STICK SEAT Application filed February 28, 1930, Serial No. 431,532, and in Great Britain September 18, 1929.

This invention relates to walking-stick Like parts are designated by similar refseats and has for its object to provide a new erence characters throughout the drawing. or improved construction therefor which will Referring to the drawing, the support a enable them to be produced and sold at a consists of a metal tube of a gauge adequate price much below the comparatively exclusive to sustain the weight of the user. The said prices which at present prevail. Apart from tube may be finished exteriorly either by the question of price, however, the improved plating enamelling or by acovering of seat also embodies useful features which are leather or other suitable material. The supnot to be found in such seats as at present port can either be made of a fiXed length, as 10 marketed. shown in Figure 8, or be capable of exten- The improved seat is constructed wholly sion in which latter case it can, as shown in or mainly of metal and in such a manner as Figures 1 and 3, be of telescopic constructo avoid the necessity for the employment of tion- In either case it is shod at the bottom skilled labour or for elaborate machining end With a ferrule a 15 and finishing operations. The seat proper at the upper end of the As compared with existing seats of the upp rt comprises a pair of wire loops 1), 5 same type the improved seat whilst being made of steel suitably heat treated to impart more than sufliciently strong for its purpose a certain degree of resilience to the seat. The is much lighter to carry and perfectly rigid Bal loops, Which may be of any appropriate 20 when used as a walking-stick. shape, are pivoted in a bracket 0 secured to Where the stick is made adjustable the inhe upper end of the support a. When exti i l d a new i d thod tended or turned down to form the seat each of locking and releasing the telescoping n1em- 100p overhangs and takes a bearing upon the bers of the support. adjacent edge of the bracket 0 in close proxim- The invention also includes a new or imy to i p o h gr 0f resilience proved method of attaching and releasing obtained in any given case will therefore dethe ground plate or disc which when the stick pend upon the gauge and temper of the wire is in use is introduced onto the lower end to and he distance between the edge of the prevent the stick sinking into soft ground cket and the point along the overhanging and which when the stick is not in use is carpart of the loop where the weight of the user ried by a bo n th at bra k t. principally falls. The comfort of the'user is In the accompanying ch'gnving further assured providing the wire of the Figure 1 represents an adjustable walking loops, with a covering 72 of some resilient 7 stick seat embodying the present invention. material such as leather with or without an 35 Fig r 2 i a la f th Same ith th at intermediate covering 5 of india-rubber, 01'

portions extended. padding.

Figure 3 is a sectional view on a larger The bracket 0 may consist of a stainless scale of the lower end of the adjustable sups eel or other metal casting, or it may, alterport. natively, be formed of sheet metal by a press Figures l and 5 are sectional views at right ing 0 Stamping operation. The Said bracket angles to each other of the seat bracket, Figis of boX formation open at the top and proure 4 showing the boss and ground plate and vided on its under side with a socket 0 within Figure 5 the seat elements turned upwards to Which the upper end of the tubular support form a handle. 7 a is rigidly fixed in any suitable manner, as

Figures 6 and 7 are plan and sectional by brazing or byscrewing or other form of views respectively of the ground plate and its mechanical connection. The bracket is prolocking means. vided with a pair of horizontal pins or rivets Figure 8 shows the application of the inc which are fixed in the opposite walls therevention to a non-adjustable walking stick of and constitute the pivots for the wire loops 50 seat. or seat members 6, b. A tubular distance piece is preferably introduced onto each of these pivot pins between the eyes 12 of each loop, or alternatively the distance pieces may be cast solid with the bracket.

In order that the seat members when used as a handle shall be rigid with the support the bracket 0 is provided with a stop which may conveniently take the form. of a dividing wall 0 formed integrally with the bracket and extending across the same between the pivot pins so= as to: limit-the foldingmovement of the seat members in such a manner that when they are gripped together inthe position shown in Figure 5, they form. a.

handle which is quite rigid with the support.

\Vhere the improved stick is made adjustable in height, Figures 1 and 3, the lower end is provided with a tubular member 6& adapted to telescope within the support a, and to be locked in its adjusted position therein. For this purpose the locking means is preferably concealed within the interior of the telescoping members and, in the form shown, consists of a pin or detent d whichis mounted in a hole 0 in the inner telescopic tubular member of the stick from which it normally protrudes laterally under the influence of a spring" 7' concealed within the said member. The said pin is adapted to engage with any one of a longitudinal series of holes 9- formed for the purpose in. the outer telescopic member of the stick so as to prevent relative movement between the two telescoping members. In order to release the latter prior to. adyustment, all that isnecessary is to depress the outer protruding end of the pin (Z against the action of the; spring into its hole in the outer member when the stick can be extended or shortened, as desired,.the pin automatically snapping into. engagement with another of the holes 9 in the outer member and effectually locking the parts in the new position. The protrudin end of the pin is suitably chamfered or round d so that it is not necessary 1 to use a tool to force it right back before the stick can be adjusted.

The pin; may be spring mounted in any suitable manner, asby means of a blade spring. which, as shown in- FigureB, is loosely inserted in the open inner end of the inner telescopic member a and formed so as normally to n aintain the pin (l in. its operative position. Advantage may be taken of utilizing the same spring 7' to prevent, any tendency to rattle or free play between the telescopic members of the stick. For this purpose one end 7 of the spring may extend. beyond the open inner end of the innertelescopic memher and be so shaped asto press firmly against the. inside wallof the outer telescopic memher a in a, direction opposite to. the pressure exerted by the part carrying the pin. This effect is obtained. by bending the ends of the spring substantially in the manner shown.

Theimproved locking device is equally applicable where adjustment is made at the upper end of the stick, in which case the bracket 0 would be carried by the inner telescopic member (L The plate or disc h, which is normally carried by a boss 0 on the bracket 0 and when the stick is in. use is transferred to the ferrule a to prevent the latter sinking into soft ground, is removably secured in either of these two positions by means of a locking device which when the disc is: introduced onto the said boss or the ferrule automatically locks the same in posit-ion thereon. In its preferred form, the said locking device consi'sts of a blade spring 2' which loosely encircles-a boss h on the plateand isseeured theretosat its ends by a screw 70.. At a point diametrically opposite the screw the spring is provided. with an inwardly directed pin or peg Z which is adapted to enter a hole 129; in the said boss on the plate and to protrude therethrough into engagement with. an annular groove n in the ferrule 64 or lower end of the stick, Figure 3, or in the boss 0" on the bracket, Figure l. The action of the locking device is such that, normally the blade spring 2' holds the pin Z in: its operative 7 position so that when the plate is introduced into either of its two positions the pin is first pushed outwardly against the pressure of the springuntil it comes opposite the annular groove it when it automatically snaps home under the-influence of the spring and securely locks the plate in position. In order to remove the plate the spring 71 is compressed between the fingers along a diameter substantially at right angles to that containing the pin Z and screw 72 when it will be found. that the resulting distortion of the spring will cause the, said pin to move out of its operative position. Alternatively, the locking pin may be carried. by a bow-shaped spring embracing a portion only of the boss on the plate and having its ends returned onthemselves for a short distance and retained. in position between stops on the plate and the boss of the latter. The pin. is carried by the middle of the spring and operates in. the same way as above described, being released by pinching the ends of the spring against the boss of the plate which causes the middle part of the spring to move away from the boss and so withdraw the peg from engagement with the annular groove.

The bottom end of the stick or the ferrule a may be screw-threaded internally or otherwise formed to. receive an india-rubber pad '0. or a spike.

I claim:

1.. In a seat stick having a cane portion, a bracket mounted on the upper end. of said cane portion, a pair of anchoring pinsmounted in: said bracket and extendingparallel to each other, and a division plate rigid with said bracket and extending from end to end thereof parallel to, between, and equi-distant from, said anchoring pins respectively, the said bracket having sides respectively extending parallel to and adjacent the respeclive pins, in combination with a pair of resilient loop members respectively mounted on said pins to swing about the respective axes thereof, each said loop member being adapted to swing in an are not exceeding ninety degrees defined at one end by the division plate and at the other end by the edge of the respective cooperating side portion of the bracket.

2. In a seat stick having a cane portion, a bracket mounted on the upper end of said cane portion, a pair of anchoring pins mounted in said bracket and extending parallel to each other and a division plate extending from end to end of said bracket parallel to, between, and equi-distant from, said anchoring pins respectively, the sides of said bracket extending upwardly beyond a horizontal plane intersecting the axis of said pins in combination with a pair of resilient loop members respectively connected to said pins to respectively swing about the same, each said loop member being adapted to swing outward away from each other and to be within the interiors of said members and having its end portions bent inward toward each other so as to result in putting the end portions of the spring under compression and having the extreme end portions of the re spective ends of the spring in engagement with the respective telescopic members to eliminate play between said members.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification at Coventry, England, this fifteenth day of February, 1930.

HARRY DUDLEY STEVENS.

engaged between its free end and its point 1 of connection to its respective pin, before it has swung down horizontally, by the edge of the adjacent side of said bracket.

3. In a seat stick having a cane portion, a bracket mounted on the upper end of said cane portion, a boss extending from said bracket, said boss being formed with an annular groove, and the lower end of said cane portion being formed with an annular groove, said annular grooves being of the same size, in combination with a ground plate adapted to slip on either the lower end of said cane portion or on said boss, a pin extending through the wall of said ground plate and adapted to extend into either of said grooves, and a leaf spring of slightly elliptical formation mounted concentrically on the said ground plate and secured at one end of its minor axis thereto, and carrying said pin at the other end of said minor axis, whereby compression of said spring in the direction of its major axis will serve to withdraw the pin from its operative position.

4. In a seat stick having a telescopic cane portion, the external telescopic member being formed with a longitudinal series of perforations, and a lock pin extending through the inner telescopic member and being adapted to fit into any one of said perforations to lock said members in any desired adjusted position, in combination with a leaf spring extending for the most part within said inner telescopic member and having an end portion extending into and bearing against the outer telescopic member, said spring carrying said lock pin and being entirely disposed 

